More Than a Miracle
by bionic4ever
Summary: MTaM1: Everyone thought it would never happen, but Jaime has her memory back, although her reunion with Steve may be halted by a bomb and a potential earthquake.
1. Chapter 1

**More Than a Miracle**

Chapter One

It was a miracle that had been far too long in coming, but a miracle, nonetheless. Jaime knew enough to be grateful, even as she longed for the one pair of arms she knew might never hold her again because she had set _him _free. Steve loved her so much that he'd been willing to wait as long as it took for her memories of the two of them to return, but Rudy's prognosis had been far from optimistic.

"I'm sorry, Honey," the doctor had told her, as gently as possible. "We've done all we can medically to restore your memory."

"What about Steve?" she'd pleaded. He was so kind, so patient and loving (not to mention handsome!); Jaime had wanted more than anything to remember the love they'd shared – to feel that way again – but...

"I'm so sorry," Rudy had concluded. End of discussion.

It was not, however, the end of Jaime's hope. She had such warm, strong feelings for Steve; could _real _love be that far away, especially when the bond had already been there, once before? She'd tried everything she could think of: photo albums, listening to the recollections of their friends and even staring longingly at their engagement announcement. Finally, with a heavy heart, she'd told Steve that what they'd had was now unrecoverable. He'd taken the news stoically (he'd been expecting it) but Jaime ached for him. She knew that, unlike herself, Steve felt the full extent of what they'd lost. Now – suddenly and unexpectedly – Jaime felt it, too.

It was like a bright light shining into a previously darkened corridor, but felt so natural and _right_ that it seemed as though it had always been there. The brass ring was right before her eyes, shiny, full of promise and...just out of reach.

Steve still wasn't dating; Oscar often told her that. He meant well, but that knowledge only made Jaime feel worse. It had been almost three years since they'd said goodbye, and for three years, Steve had lived life in a holding pattern, just...waiting. Jaime had always known that their bond had been an unusually strong one, but now that it's intensity was hitting her full force, she felt like a love-struck schoolgirl and had no idea what to do about it.

She could call him and say...what? _Hey Steve, guess what? I know you just spent three years burying your feelings, but what do you say we dig 'em back up again? _No way! What if she was only **remembering **the feelings she'd once shared with Steve? _God, I don't wanna hurt him, _she said out loud for about the tenth time that morning.

She could call Helen and Jim and ask them to arrange something – or Oscar, or Rudy – but Jaime was a firm believer in tackling her own issues head on. A letter! She'd write a letter, then she'd have time to compose her thoughts carefully, to get the words exactly right. She rushed to find a pen and notebook and curled up on the sofa.

_Dear Steve – _too familiar. Crumple, toss. _Steve – _not right either. Crumple, harder toss. _Hey Steve, guess what? _Definitely not. A very aggravated crumple and an overhead shot into the kitchen.

_Dear Steve _(that one seemed to work the best), _I have some news that will probably come as a shock – I know it did to me – and I'm not sure what your reaction might be, but we've never been less than completely honest with each other in the past, so you're the first person I wanted to tell when this -_

**Knock, knock – ding! **Jaime set aside the letter, which still didn't seem quite right, to answer the door. When she opened it, she stood staring in stunned silence.

"Ya know," the face with smiling blue eyes she could melt right into said lightly, "when your best friend flies all the way across the country to see you, the least you could do is say hi..."

Jaime finally gave him a full-out grin as she opened the door. "Hi, Steve."

- - - - - -

Once Jaime had recovered enough of her senses to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses, she and Steve moved into the living room where she relaxed on the fluffy rug in front of the fireplace and admired the rippling of his muscles as he leaned over to light the fire. Jaime found she couldn't take her eyes off of him as he stretched out comfortably next to her. When his gaze met Jaime's, Steve sensed immediately that something was different, but he let her set the mood.

"What brings you out West?" she asked, trying to sound casual even as her heart was doing happy little back flips.

"You," Steve said simply.

"Me? Why?"

"I need a reason?"

"Of course not, but..." she still had not looked away, enjoying how Steve's eyes seemed to hold hers captive, drawing her closer without saying a word.

"I can't really explain it," he began, before he, too, lost the ability to complete his sentence.

"What?"

"Well, I just thought – sensed, I guess – that you needed to see me." Steve's instincts and his heart already knew exactly what was happening, but he didn't dare to let himself believe it; not yet.

Without either of them realizing it, they'd moved so close to each other that they began to breathe in deep, perfect unison. "I...did..." was all Jaime could manage. Still she wanted – _needed_ – to tell him all of it, the whole story. "Steve, I..."

Steve brushed her lips gently with one finger, and he smiled with his entire being. "Jaime," he whispered, finally daring to acknowledge what he was seeing and feeling. His lips followed, drifting across Jaime's with a feathery softness as he reached up to caress her cheek. "I already know."

- - - - - -


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Steve knew without question that the woman he'd just kissed was **his** Jaime – before bionic rejection took her memory and almost took her life – _this _was the woman with whom he'd been so deeply in love. Of course, he realized with a guilty start, this was also the woman he'd chased in the dark, through that awful storm, knowing she was in pain intolerable enough to have driven her nearly out of her mind. Directly or indirectly, he had caused that intense pain, and the very last thing he wanted to do was hurt Jaime, ever again.

Reluctantly, Steve leaned back, forcing himself to put some distance between them. "When did you get your memory back?" he asked softly.

"It just...happened," Jaime told him, her voice trembling almost as much as she was. "Are you...angry?"

Steve had assumed that she was sick or in trouble, when his instincts compelled him to fly to Ojai. This, he hadn't expected and he was touched that Jaime seemed worried about _him_. Love and empathy drew him close to her again, and he wrapped one gentle arm around her body. "Of course not, Sweetheart, but I can't forget what happened the last time you tried to remember 'us'. You nearly died..."

"I'm not trying, Steve – it's there; all of it. I just don't know what to do about it."

Steve brushed the hair from Jaime's face as her head drifted almost automatically onto his shoulder. He longed to kiss her again, to never stop kissing her, but his heart was whispering _wait...for now_. "I think you should have Rudy check you over," he suggested, "just to be sure everything's ok."

Jaime nodded as she settled into the warmth and comfort of the only pair of arms that had ever truly felt _right_.

- - - - - -

Steve had done an utterly heroic job of hiding his feelings for the last three years, but he'd never stopped loving Jaime. Now that she was possibly coming back to him and he could let those feelings surface, the flood of emotions overwhelmed him almost as much as they did Jaime. He paced nervously in the lobby of OSI-Los Angeles, just outside of Rudy's office door, while Jaime was inside with the doctor.

"Hey, Pal, you'll wear a hole in the carpet," a voice beside him said with an audible smile.

"Oscar? I didn't know you were coming -"

"Don't worry; I'm not here to put you to work." Before Steve could ask, Oscar continued, "or Jaime, either."

"Good. Then why -?"

"Rudy and I weren't sure what was happening with Jaime. You'd already flown out, and we thought something was wrong, but you both seem happy, aside from the groove you're about to make in the floor..."

"Sorry," Steve said, finally coming to a full stop.

"Is it something you can tell me about?" Oscar probed.

Steve grinned. "Got coffee on?" By the time he and Oscar were seated in the office with steaming mugs in hand, Steve had already blurted out the whole story, unable to contain it any longer.

Oscar beamed at his friend's sheer joy. "That's the best news I've heard in a long time! Are you sure? Is _Jaime _sure?"

"I could _see _it," Steve confirmed. "She didn't even have to tell me, Oscar; I just _knew_."

"And...no pain?"

"Not that I know of. I mean, she seems fine, but that's why I wanted her to see Rudy, just to be sure."

As though on cue, the doctor and his radiant patient appeared in the office doorway. Steve was instantly on his feet as Jaime moved to his side – and into his arms. Rudy nodded at Steve. "She's all yours," he proclaimed happily.

Jaime thought nothing had ever felt as good as Steve's tender embrace, and Steve marveled at the idea that this time maybe he wouldn't ever have to let her go. Both were already oblivious to the presence of anyone else on the planet, and goodbyes weren't necessary as they seemed to float out the door.

"Like the man said," Jaime whispered, leaning in closer as they stepped out into the sunshine, "I'm all yours."

- - - - - -

Jaime and Steve took a walk up the long, grassy hill that led to 'their' tree stump, and sat contentedly watching the sunset. They were so comfortable together that words didn't seem necessary. Jaime looked at Steve, and saw everything she'd ever hoped, dreamed or wished for, close enough to touch, right there in his eyes. Steve caught the gaze and returned it, running his fingers through her hair before leaning in for a long, gentle kiss. Neither of them knew how or why this had happened; all they knew for sure was they'd somehow been granted another chance at the love of a lifetime, and they both intended to make the most of it.

Jaime melted toward Steve, and their kisses grew deeper as they explored feelings that had been dormant for far too long. The candle Steve had carried in his heart, never allowing it to extinguish, burst into a roaring, open flame of love, and of passion. When their lips finally parted from each other, the sun was gone and their soft, ragged breathing gave away their mutual need for each other. "Hungry?" Jaime asked.

"Not for food..."

Feeling more like one single soul than two separate ones, they made their way back down the hill, only to find that Oscar was waiting for them. This time, he wasn't smiling.

- - - - - -


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Oh, damn..." Steve and Jaime both muttered under their breath, laughing at their identical thought and sighing as they realized their desire would have to wait a little longer.

"Hi," Oscar said, knowing he was the last person they wanted (or expected) to see. "You know I'd rather be leaving you alone right now, but -"

"It's urgent," they completed for him, in perfect unison.

"It's more than urgent. Let's go inside." Before they were even seated, Oscar had spread a map of Southern California across Jaime's kitchen table. "Intel reports indicate terrorists have planted a bomb somewhere in this section of the San Gorgonio Pass."

Jaime's face paled instantly. "That's where half a dozen different fault lines meet up," she told Steve.

Oscar nodded. "Exactly. And it gets worse. Data on the device and its detonator indicate that it could be nuclear."

"Oh, no!" Jaime felt Steve's arm tighten around her waist as she considered what that could mean. "Setting off an explosion there – any explosion..." she could barely form the words.

"Would be beyond catastrophic," Oscar concluded for her. "It's due to detonate at midnight tonight."

Steve looked at his watch. It was almost 8:30. "It'll take at least an hour to get there. That only leaves me a little more than two hours to find -"

"Leaves _**us**_," Jaime interrupted.

"Not this time, Jaime," Steve insisted. "This is way too dangerous."

"So I should just sit here and wait to see if I get blown into bits?" Jaime shook her head.

"Oscar can get you to somewhere safe."

"No. Try again, Austin," she insisted. "I can hear the detonator; without me, you'll never find it in time. I'm going with you."

The sound of a chopper landing in the driveway interrupted their argument. 'Your ride is here," Oscar told them quietly.

- - - - - -

Jaime and Steve spent the first half of the chopper ride going over a topographical map, deciding where a bomb was most likely to have been placed, and where the safest nearby spot was, so they could hit the ground running. The pilot was going to hover but not land, and return for them when he received their datacom signal. In the meantime, they would be alone in a vast, rocky wasteland with a live nuclear warhead. Once their plans were complete, they pushed the map away and leaned into each other's embrace, holding each other close for what they hoped would not be the last time.

When they reached their designated area, they pulled close together and threw all of their passion and emotion into a single kiss. They weren't voicing the words, but their eyes spoke volumes about their feelings, and they shared one more lingering gaze before jumping together onto the rocks below.

After a pause to get their bearings, Steve began to scope out the landscape while Jaime closed her eyes to listen for the faint buzz/tick sound of the detonator. After a few minutes, she shook her head. "Nothing," she whispered. Grabbing Steve's hand in the dark, she moved slowly across the rocks and crevices, trying to be aware of every nuance of sound and wishing she wasn't scared out of her mind. If any sort of a bomb went off at this point, where the San Andreas Fault met most of the other major fault lines, there'd be literally nothing left, so she reasoned that the terrorists themselves had to be long gone. That was why she didn't notice footsteps, blending in so well with Steve's and her own.

Floodlights suddenly flashed on, illuminating their surroundings, which at that moment included gunmen advancing toward them from every direction. One man stepped away from the circle and moved quickly toward the shocked and completely ambushed couple. His lips curled into a sneer. "Hello, Cyborgs."

Jaime and Steve glared at him in silence, and Jaime snaked an arm around Steve's body – not for comfort or affection, but to press the 'Emergency' button on his datacom. Accomplishing this, she stepped away from him and toward the apparent leader of the group.

"Stay right where you are, _Jaime_," the man snarled. The bitterness and familiarity with which he said her name made Jaime take a cautious, closer look. The man's hair was tucked into a knit cap, pulled low over his forehead and his eyes were black with anger and hatred, but Jaime was startled – and frightened – to see that she knew those eyes very well.

"_Chris_? What the hell...?" She took another step toward him with widened eyes, but the man she'd once thought she loved raised his gun with one hand and shoved her roughly with the other – ironically sending her reeling backwards, directly into Steve's arms.

"Isn't that a pretty picture?" Williams jeered as Steve helped Jaime regain her footing on the craggy terrain. "And a very lucrative one for me, I might add. I knew Goldman would send at least one of you to take care of a threat this big, but two for the price of one...it must be my lucky day." He shook his head in mock sadness. "You made a big mistake, Darling," he told Jaime. "I really did love you; I still love you."

"And you're expressing that love with a bullet?" Steve challenged, his hands balled into fists of rage.

"I haven't shot her, have I?" Chris snapped. "The money I'll make when my friends here take possession of you - and later, of her, too - will be at least a little compensation for having my heart ripped out and trampled in the dust."

"Chris..." Jaime said softly, falling silent when Steve shook his head.

"Williams, if you love her like you say you do," Steve ventured, "then let her go. You know better than most people what these men will do to us. Can you really let that happen to the woman you love?" He took a step toward Chris, and was halted by more than a dozen raised weapons. Williams aimed his own gun at Steve's chest and was about to pull the trigger when a low _beep _from the datacom grabbed his attention.

"Put your radio on the ground Austin," he commanded. Steve didn't comply, and Chris turned the gun toward Jaime. "Do it now, or watch her die." Reluctantly, Steve placed the device on the rocks and stepped back to stand with Jaime. Before another word could be spoken, Williams fired a single shot that blew the datacom into pieces.

Immediately, the ground beneath their feet buckled and began to shake.

- - - - - -


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Chris was too far into his desire for vengeance to be thrown by a mere tremor, or even a potential earthquake. He stepped across the rocks to where Steve stood with Jaime, and pressed his gun to the back of Jaime's head. "You can put him in the truck," he ordered, gripping Jaime's left arm like a vise. "She's riding with me." The men began to advance toward Steve, until a more insistent, heavy rumble from below sent them on a desperate run for cover. The roar of the truck engines in the distance signaled their retreat, but Chris stood firm, the danger to Jaime still imminent and very real.

The floodlight disappeared as the trucks roared away, but was almost instantly replaced by a new one from the sky. The chopper had returned. "Looks like your ride left without you, Williams," Steve said, forcing himself to stay where he was, very aware of the weapon and its lethal threat to the woman he loved. "How about riding out with us, before the ground swallows you -?"

"_Do you think I'm stupid?_" Chris thundered, almost completely out of his head. "Call them off or – I mean it! - I'll kill her!"

"I can't do that," Steve pointed out. "My datacom is gone." The rocks shifted below them, and Steve held his breath, praying the gun wouldn't go off as all three of them struggled to maintain their footing. A rope, leading up to the hovering chopper, dangled just above their heads. "Chris," Steve said in as even a voice as he could manage, "let's get Jaime out of here. I know how much you love her. Why don't you prove it to her, and let her be safe?"

"Forget it! She's staying with me!"

An ominous grinding sort of growl was coming from somewhere very close, and Steve knew they were almost out of time. He thought about making a bionic lunge at Chris, pushing him and his weapon away from Jaime, but if Williams managed to get off a shot...!

Jaime, herself, had been eerily quiet, her mind racing as she considered the implications of this sudden, deadly triangle. "Steve, take the rope and get outta here," she whispered, figuring Chris wouldn't let go of her long enough to stop him.

"You heard the lady," Williams chuckled. "She wants to stay with me. She made her choice, Austin."

"You don't think I'd even consider -" Steve began. The terrain took a violent _jerk_ beneath them, causing Chris to lose his balance, and Steve grabbed what would probably be his only opportunity, throwing his left arm around Jaime and shoving the crazed man further in the direction he'd begun to fall. The gun tumbled up and out his hand, but not before he'd managed one shot which went wild and harmed no one.

Williams still had a grip on Jaime's arm, and the momentum combined with the shifting rocks sent all three of them sprawling to the ground. Steve quickly grabbed the gun and looked for Jaime, who was lying very still, her head between two small rocks. Williams glared at them from where he'd landed, but his leg was bent under him at a strange, unnatural angle, and he made no attempt to get up. Steve knelt at Jaime's side and tried to gently rouse her, with no success.

"Sweetheart," he said softly, "can you hear me?" There was no response, and the chopper dipped lower, dangling the rope where he could reach it, so Steve bent the gun into a ball of metal and threw it at Williams, then looped one arm around Jaime and the other onto the rope, giving it the gentle tug that would signal the pilot to pull them up.

"Contact Rudy Wells," Steve told the pilot, once they were safely aboard.

"Already did, Colonel; he and Mister Goldman will be waiting at National." The pilot turned back to the controls and headed at top speed toward National Medical Center.

Steve stretched Jaime out flat on the floor of the aircraft, with a flotation device to cushion her head. There was no bleeding, but she had several bruises and a few small bumps that seemed to be growing. There hadn't been time to consider any neck or back injuries, evacuation being the only concern at the time, but now Steve dreaded the thought that moving her may have made everything worse. Jaime's face was pale, and she was frighteningly still and silent. They had so happily reunited little more than 24 hours earlier; would Fate be cruel enough to take her away from him again?

The thought was more than Steve could bear, and he choked back his terror just long enough to lean over her prone body and softly kiss her with all the love and hope his lips could impart. A single, very quiet moan accompanied the sight Steve longed for more than any other: Jaime's eyes opened and gazed up into his own, filling his heart with joy.

"Hi there," he whispered, taking her hand.

"Steve..."

"Shh...just rest, Sweetheart," he urged.

Although she was weak, Jaime's eyes delved into Steve's with a strength that took their collective breath away. "I love you," she murmured, just before drifting off to sleep.

- - - - - -


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Rudy, I don't need to stay overnight!" Jaime protested, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. "I'm fine! You even said there's nothing wrong with me."

Steve gently but firmly reached down, moved Jaime's legs back up onto the mattress and covered her with a blanket. "It never hurts to be careful," he told her, then turned to Rudy. "I think she might need sedation, Doc."

The doctor chuckled, happy to see how comfortable his two friends had become with each other in such a short time. "I'm going to need sedation, if I get into this one," he said lightly.

"Are they giving you trouble, Doctor Wells?" Oscar asked in his best mock-stern voice, as he joined them. He nodded to Steve and took at seat at Jaime's bedside. "How's your head, Babe?"

Jaime smiled. "My head – and the rest of me – would like to be home, in my own bed." _Preferably not alone, _she added silently to herself as she looked over at Steve.

"Tomorrow morning," Rudy promised. "_If _you behave yourself and stay in bed for tonight."

"She will," Steve assured him. "If she tries to run, she'll have me to deal with." He sat down on the edge of Jaime's bed, keeping her from getting up again, and when she leaned obediently back against her pillows, rewarding her with a kiss.

"Did they find Williams?" Steve asked, before Jaime could.

Oscar's smile vanished. "No. The chopper we sent in couldn't find a trace of him."

"I saw his leg; he couldn't have walked outta there," Steve protested.

"Maybe his so-called friends came back for him," Jaime guessed.

"I doubt it," Steve added. "Not the way they turned tail and ran at the first sign of a tremor. Oscar, how bad _was _the 'quake?"

"Hardly worth mentioning, outside of that valley. There's a nice new fissure, where San Jacinto begins, which was the shaking you felt, but other than that immediate area, the needles barely moved."

"Thank God," Jaime sighed. "And the bomb?"

"There was no bomb," Oscar confirmed.

Steve's arm drew Jaime a little closer. "Williams knew that, faced with such an immediate threat, Oscar would have to send one – or both – of us. If I had showed up alone, he had the buyers there, ready and waiting."

Jaime shivered. "And if it was just me..."

"Let's not even go there, Sweetheart. The important thing is, you're ok."

"Thanks to you." Jaime leaned into him, and he clasped her gently to his chest, knowing instinctively that she needed the physical comfort. Oscar and Rudy nodded to each other and quietly left the room, pausing at the door for one more glance.

"Why _are_ you keeping her overnight?" Oscar asked as he headed for the exit.

"Did you notice how...cozy they were?" Rudy said with a grin. "Wouldn't hurt her to rest up."

Oscar nodded; no further explanation needed.

- - - - - -

The next afternoon, Jaime and Steve headed back up the grassy hill behind her house, not stopping at the tree stump but continuing on the path to a tiny, secluded glen a little further down the river. They were on private land annexed to Jim and Helen's ranch, so they knew they wouldn't be disturbed.

"It's so beautiful here!" Jaime exclaimed, spreading a blanket on the thick, lush grass.

"_You're _beautiful," Steve told her, setting down the picnic basket and drawing her close. As he began to kiss her, they sank together onto the soft ground, never breaking eye or lip contact and feeling as though they'd never been apart.

"Hard to believe that just a few days ago, we were half a world away from each other..." Steve marveled, running his fingertips along the curve of Jaime's cheek, down the nape of her neck and entwining them in her hair.

"I've learned never to argue with a miracle," Jaime whispered, "especially after last night."

"When you went down..." Steve started to say. Looking into her joy-filled eyes, he realized how very close they'd come to losing each other for good. His mouth claimed hers ravenously, unable to hold back any longer, and Jaime returned the kiss with equal passion. Soon, they could no longer tell where one left off and the other began as, picnic basket forgotten, their bodies became as closely joined together as their souls had been all along. They knew that this moment was more than a miracle; it was the beginning of a lifetime of love.

END


End file.
